Navigation information can be generated from compressed and packetized MPEG streams, and the navigation information then placed in a separate navigation file that can be accessed to permit navigation functions to be performed during decompression and playback of the MPEG stream. An authoring tool may be used to parse the MPEG stream and generate the navigation data. The navigation data may then be used to select individual start points, different audio channels, special effects, etc., during playback.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method, comprising: examining an MPEG stream; identifying packets in the MPEG stream that are associated with navigation points in a playback of the MPEG stream; storing a first component of information of the identified packets in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file; and storing a second component of information of the identified packets in a binary file.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein: examining an MPEG stream includes examining a transport stream.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the navigation database is in a separate file from the MPEG stream.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the XML file includes one or more of chapter times, positions and labels, and the binary file includes presentation time and file offset of a packet corresponding to one or more video I-frames.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein: identifying packets includes identifying packets associated with selected presentation times in the playback.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein: identifying packets includes identifying a packet containing a video I-frame with a presentation time near one of the selected presentation times.
7. A method, comprising: retrieving a first component of information on specified packets in an MPEG stream from an Extensible Markup Language (XML) navigation file that is separate from the MPEG stream; retrieving a second component of information from a binary navigation file that is separate from the MPEG stream; and using the retrieved information to navigate the MPEG stream.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein using the retrieved information to navigate includes: identifying a point in the MPEG stream identified by the retrieved information; processing the MPEG stream starting at the point; and presenting at least a portion of the processed MPEG stream.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein: presenting includes presenting video data.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein: presenting includes presenting audio data.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein: the XML file includes one or more of chapter times, positions and labels, and the binary file includes presentation time and file offset of a packet corresponding to one or more video I-frames.
12. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which when executed by at least one processor cause said at least one processor to perform operations comprising: examining an MPEG stream; identifying packets in the MPEG stream that are associated with navigation points in a playback of the MPEG stream; storing a first component of information of the identified packets in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file; and storing a second component of information of the identified packets in a binary file.
13. The medium of claim 12 , wherein: examining an MPEG stream includes parsing packets in the MPEG stream.
14. The medium of claim 12 , wherein: the navigation database is in a separate file from the MPEG stream.
15. The medium of claim 12 , wherein: the navigation database is not encoded in the MPEG stream.
16. The medium of claim 12 , wherein: identifying packets includes identifying packets associated with selected presentation times in the playback.
17. The medium of claim 12 , wherein: identifying packets includes identifying a video I-frame with a presentation time near one of the selected presentation times.
18. An apparatus, comprising: a medium to provide an MPEG stream; and an authoring tool coupled to the medium to examine the MPEG stream and to produce a first component of navigation information stored in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) navigation file and a second component of information stored in a binary navigation file separate from the MPEG stream.
19. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising: a storage device to store the navigation file.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising: a transmission interface to transmit the navigation file.
21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein: the authoring tool includes a processor and a computer program.
22. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein: the navigation file includes data identifying specific points in the MPEG stream.
23. The apparatus of claim 18 , further comprising: a playback component to navigate the MPEG stream based on contents of the navigation file.
24. A system, comprising: an encoder to encode digitized video and audio data into packets in an MPEG stream; a navigation generator coupled to the encoder to: examine the MPEG stream; generate navigation information on packets associated with specific presentation points in the MPEG stream; and store a first component of the navigation information in a an Extensible Markup Language (XML) navigation file and a second component of information stored in a binary navigation file separate from a file to store the MPEG stream; and a decoder to read and decode portions of the MPEG stream identified by the navigation information.
25. The system of claim 24 , further comprising: a player to present the decoded portions of the MPEG stream.
26. The system of claim 24 , wherein: the MPEG stream includes timing information for synchronized presentation of the video and audio data.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
August 17, 2001
November 21, 2006
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.